Opposition-led parliamentary watchdog ‘to look into’ World Cup

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee will probe government spending for the just ended ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, an opposition lawmaker vowed Thursday, declaring the event a failure that has raised questions of financial transparency.

“The amount of money that has been spent is unjustifiable and unaccounted for. And we will get to the bottom of that through the Public Accounts Committee,”  Senator Ryan Walters told reporters at a press conference convened at the opposition leader’s office. 

He alleged discrepancies in reported expenditures for the redevelopment of Kensington Oval and expressed doubts about the benefits to the economy.

“About six months ago, at the end of November, we heard the government was going to borrow $50 million to redevelop Kensington Oval,” he said. “There was an outcry in the public domain because of the quantum of that sum. A few weeks later, we heard half of it would go to the revitalisation of cricket in Barbados and the other half to the redevelopment of Kensington Oval and some facilities in Barbados.”

The senator pointed out that reported costs for the project have fluctuated significantly. 

“In April, from Kensington Oval Management Inc., we heard that they have spent $30 million so far, with an estimated $5 to $9 million more needed to complete the project,” he said. “So, we had $50 million in the first instance, then $25 million in the second instance, and now $39 million in the third instance. Just before the commencement of the games, government officials came and told us they spent just over $40 million to redevelop Kensington.”

Walter criticised a lack of clear communication regarding expenditure and the decision to burden the state-owned Kensington Oval Management Inc. with the financial responsibility. 

He noted that since 2019, the government has provided $14.76 million in taxpayer support to the entity.

The opposition senator also questioned the economic benefits of hosting the World Cup. 

“We did not have to spend $75 million, $50 million, $20 million, or $10 million in any of these years to get the number of visitors we got. Forty thousand visitors in June is a failure and cannot be touted as a success for visitor arrivals in this country,” he argued. 

“The problem this country and this government faces is that this government has been unable to attract tourists to our country since COVID.” 

Senator Walters further highlighted complaints from taxi drivers and vendors who felt sidelined during the event. 

He also pointed to a lack of tangible benefits for small business owners, despite those benefits being a key justification for the expenditure. 

“This is not to say we would not have enjoyed it; we could have enjoyed cricket if we had spent about $7 million on the Oval. We would have enjoyed cricket this year. But this decision is a failed decision,” he said. (RG)